Casalgrande Padana in grand style in Rome: the Grand Prix and the opening of Casa Baldi

In the unique setting of the Acquario Romano – designed by Ettore Bernich in 1885-87 and now home of the Casa dell'Architettura in Rome – the prizes were distributed for the 11th edition of the Grand Prix international architecture competition organized and supported by Casalgrande Padana to identify the most important international works that make use of the technical properties and creative stimuli of porcelain stoneware, as an inseparable design component and an architectural skin.

Gran Prix Casalgrande Padana once again offers an authoritative observatory on the international architecture scene, shedding light on the expressive potential of porcelain stoneware.

The jury chaired by Franco Manfredini, president of Casalgrande Padana, and composed of Federico BucciOrazio Campo, Tobias Lutz, Mia PizziSebastian Redecke and Matteo Vercelloni, announced the names of the winners of the 11th cycle, after examining over 130 submissions to select works of architecture that aptly interpret the theme of ceramic material as a protagonist of projects, in terms of both form and function.

There were three winners and one special mention for each of the four categories:

-First prize of Grand Prix 2016-2018 in the category shopping centers went to the architect Filippo Taidelli for the Humanitas University Campus projects in Rozzano, Milan, and the Humanitas Congress Center at Pieve Emanuele, Milan.

-For the Facade cladding category, first prize was for Alfonso Femia of Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia for the Dallara education and exhibition complex at Varano de’ Melegari, Parma, and for I Giardini di Gabriel, Asnièrs-sur-Seine, France.

-For the category of Public buildings: first prize was assigned to the studio noa* - network of architecture for the Alpin Panorama Hotel Hubertus in Valdaora, Italy.

-For Residential buildings: first prize went to Birgitta Hjelm-Luontola for the project LuxLine in Pori, Finland.

The event coincided with the opening of Casa Baldi, the new Creative Center of Casalgrande Padana for culture and architectural design, producing a series of initiatives in the fields of architecture, design and production.

The space opens up an important artifact to designers and sector professionals.

Casa Baldi, built from 1959 to 1961, is a work by Paolo Portoghesi. The famous teacher and architect was called in by Casalgrande Padana to oversee the restoration, developed through a series of solutions in harmony with the original work, while adapting it to a new functional role.

“Casa Baldi is an ‘intentionally ambiguous’ building” Paolo Portoghesi"